Sham
by imafangirlforever
Summary: Not everybody could live truthful and free, like Tris. Not everyone could act like their true selves. Not everyone could go on with life, without wearing a mask. She knew from the beginning she wasn't Dauntless.. in fact, it was the exact opposite. She was Erudite. Caleb x OC
1. Game Start

**A/N: Hello, and thanks for checking out my story! I look through Divergent fanfictions and usually find.. well, very cliche and overused OC plots. Now, I'm not saying _all_ of them are like this, but I counted at least 10 Tobias's-sister-transfers-to-Dauntless fanfictions. Actually, I've noticed most OCs are Divergent, transfer to Dauntless, and fall in love with Eric.**

**Totally fine with me, but I'm going to try breaking this stereotype. My OC (whose name will be revealed next chapter)is going to be a coward. Yep, a Dauntless coward. I had this idea for a while, and wanted to type it out...**

**So, thanks for reading my long rant (or skipping it, I suppose). That's about it!**

**I don't own Divergent.**

* * *

It was morning when she awoke. Blinking sleepily, she rubbed her eyes until they adjusted to the light. Someone knocked on the door to her room, and before she could answer, barged in.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty's awake!" her brother called behind him, grinning at her. "Are you ready for today, kiddo?"

She scowled at him. "Jace, for the last time, I am _not_ a kid!"

"_Suuuure _you aren't," he said teasingly, poking her cheek. "Now rise and shine, because we have a lot of work to do!"

Groaning, the teenager slipped out of bed. Her brother, with his fiery red hair and firm hands placed on his hips, was a morning person, unlike her. Morning was the time when she was the most tired. Morning was the time when she'd wake up from a dream, bolt up, and sink once realizing everything she experienced was created by her mind. Swatting a hand at the smiling boy, she glared at him. "Get out, I'm going to change."

"I will, as long as you promise Vanessa does your makeup." He stood his ground, and she couldn't help but admire that.

She rolled her eyes, thinking of her sister. "She's such a drama queen."

"Come on, you know she just doesn't want you to look like a _Stiff_ for the Choosing Ceremony. _Honestly_, what is with their fashion sense?" he mimicked their eldest sibling mockingly.

Vanessa, though a wonderful sister, could be very judgmental at times. A go-with-the-flow person, she mirrored almost all public opinions of the selfless faction, Abnegation.

She laughed. "Okay, I get the point. Now get out, Jace."

"Well, Lil' Alu, I guess I'll let it slide. See ya' later!" he waved, walking out of the room as he hummed a happy tune.

The girl sighed exasperatedly at his happy-go-lucky nature, but eventually started picking out of her clothes and doing necessities. A black blouse and black skirt would do nicely, she supposed. She _should_ look nice for the Choosing Ceremony.

She felt queasy at the mere thought of the words. The Choosing Ceremony, where the now sixteen-year olds of their society would have to choose what path they wanted to take in life. Frankly, she found it stupid. Why couldn't they use their abilities in whatever field suited them, and still stay with their family?

_Faction before blood._

Yes, that was the famous motto she heard so many times. Being Dauntless-born, after all, she was quite used to that drill.

It still didn't seem like much of a 'choice' to her, though.

She brushed her ebony black hair, which barely surpassed her shoulders as she stared into her full-length mirror. Who exactly was she?

A girl, petite and small, stared back at her with her chocolate brown eyes. She nearly growled at her reflection. Why, despite being born Dauntless, was she so _weak_?

… somewhere, deep in her heart, she knew. She wasn't meant to be in Dauntless. She was a coward, who would rather let other people do the work for her. She was selfish.

.

"_You seem to be cut out for Erudite," the Abnegation volunteer said in a monotone, giving her a small smile. What was her name again? Deliah or something._

_._

How was she like an Erudite? She wasn't clever. She wasn't cunning. She certainly didn't have the IQ to pass their initiation test.

She was a Dauntless, for pete's sake! She couldn't be a smart, Erudite 'wimp' (quote courtesy of Jace). She was strong. She had won many of her fights, and had gained a reputation among the Dauntless. She was expected to graduate initiation as one of the top of her class, with Uriah as her rival! She couldn't be meant for _Erudite_ of all factions!

.

"_N-no! That… can't be possible." Realization dawned on the girl's face, and despair began to crawl its way into her features. The despair suddenly turned to desperation, and she gave the Abnegation worker a hungry look. "Let me try it again! I'll prove that I'm Dauntless!"_

_._

How could that Abnegation worker know anything? She was just one of those simple fools trying to act like there was such thing as selflessness. _Foolish_. Humans were naturally selfish, and one faction couldn't change that. She was a fool, just a fool.

She couldn't be Erudite.

.

"_Dear, I'm sorry. The test does not lie."_

_._

She couldn't be… right?

.

"_You can't tell anyone. Not a soul. If they found out I wasn't Dauntless… I'd…"_

_._

She felt ashamed. She wasn't the Dauntless she portrayed herself to be every day since she was born. Every fake grin, every fight, every joke and pun told with her friends was fake. She wasn't truly brave inside...

...she had been wearing a mask the whole time.

She shook away the thoughts. She wouldn't bring herself down, now of all times. Everything would be decided at the Ceremony.

* * *

"_We should think of our family. But… but we must also think of ourselves."_

Those words Caleb spoke echoed in his head over and over again. What should he do? He had been trying, trying so hard all those years… would he really put all that effort to waste and throw away his family for the privileges of an Erudite life?

How he wished he could have been like Beatrice. Yes, he knew she probably would not choose Abnegation. But she knew her way in life, and she could fit in anywhere. She didn't hide her true self.

Maybe… all those times when he scolded her… he was really a little jealous at how she could express herself.

_What about Susan?_

That thought brought a whole new perspective to things. Susan, sweet and kind and gentle Susan… would he have to leave her too? And what about Robert? His mother? His father?

_Faction before blood._

Did that motto also mean faction before friends? Before… everything he truly loved? What was the true power in separating people and their qualities?

_No._ He commanded himself. He would not judge the factions that way. It was a way to bring peace. All of those history lessons about the wars that had happened in the old days, before the factions, proved it. No one here hurt each other. No one in the factions mistreated each other.

_Or did they?_

He would choose Erudite. Caleb set his jaw. Yes, it was selfish. Yes, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life. But he couldn't live the rest of his life as a lie, unable to express who he truly was. And who knows? Maybe he could find a way to reunite with his family while staying as an Erudite.

"_Of his son's betrayal, you mean? I shouldn't be surprised at this point. The Erudite have been attacking us with these reports for months. And this isn't the end; there will be more. I guarantee it."_

_Son's betrayal_. Yes, that was how Caleb was going to be known when he made his choice. No more happy times sitting around the dinner table, no more lively conversations in the living room, no more peaceful walks with Beatrice to school. There was no way he could reunite with his family, as long as he was Erudite.

He would be nothing more but an ex-Abnegation. A traitor.


	2. Last Words

**A/N: I don't own Divergent.**

* * *

The Dauntless do their usual way of arriving to the Choosing Ceremony: in a totally showy fashion. The train started to slow down, just enough to ensure that not everybody would plummet to their deaths. She took a deep breath as she prepared to jump. Off a train. Again. Like she always had for the last 16 years of her life. But it _was_ sort of fun, if she ignored the fact that they could die. The wind always rushed past her at an exhilarating speed. The adrenaline pumped in her lungs. But doing this _every time_?

Did it ever get old to them?

She sighed, but suddenly jolted up as someone tapped on her shoulder. To her relief, it wasn't any of her relatives. She had gone out of her way to avoid them, or a nice guilt trip would make her feel even more conflicted.

"James!" she smiled happily at her friend. "I haven't seen _you_ for a while."

"H-hi," he said shyly, rubbing his head sheepishly. "Nice to see you again too."

He seemed to ponder something, then asked, "Are you ready for the Choosing Ceremony?"

The question made her freeze. _Was_ she ready? To give up her old life? She pondered the thought for a moment, then sighed.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she answered vaguely, plastering on a fake smile.

Her friend creased his eyebrows, but asked no questions. That was what she liked about the timid, but admittedly clumsy boy. Their last names were so close that they were almost always stuck together. James Tucker and Aludra Tsui. After so many years of friendship, he was still the same boy she had met years ago. They were so close, sometimes it seemed like he could read her mind.

She hoped he couldn't read her mind right now, though.

He would go before her in the Choosing Ceremony. She was almost sure he would choose some faction like Amity, but didn't voice her opinion. What good would it do to say so, when he always tried so hard to be the Dauntless his mother wanted him to be?

He nudged her, seeing her worried expression. "Hey, everything will be alright, right? That's what you always tell me."

"Y-yeah. Thanks, James."

.

Caleb stood next to his sister and a ginger-haired boy from Candor, trying not to fidget (as Beatrice, he noted, was doing quite obviously). To calm himself, he tried to look anywhere else rather than the growing crowd of Erudite and Abnegation. Instead, he caught the eye of some Dauntless girl with shoulder-length black hair. She gave him an inquisitive look, than turned to talk to the Dauntless boy next to her.

"_See you soon."_

His father had said it so easily. Beatrice had flinched when he said that, and he was suddenly glad that he had his sister supporting him.

_For now._

Suddenly feeling the need to know he wasn't the only one stuck in this situation, he grabbed Beatrice's hand. He surveyed her for a moment. Her brief moment of surprise quickly faded and she held on to his hand just as tightly.

How long has it been since they last held hands? Since they last needed the other's strength?

It was their uncle's funeral, he realized quickly. That day, when the Sun was mercilessly shining as his father cried.

He couldn't deny that Caleb didn't like the Sun as much after that.

Marcus cleared his throat, standing at the podium. How could he be so composed? He respected the man in that way, always keeping his feelings in check. Although… that could have been a bad thing in his own way, but his leadership was admirable.

"Welcome," Marcus said in his clear, deep voice. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world."

"Our dependents are now sixteen. They stand on the precipice of adulthood, and nit is now up to them to decide what kind of people they will be," he continued solemnly. The whole room was quiet, Caleb noted, save for a few noisy Dauntless. How he wished he could be as great of a public speaker as him.

"Decades ago our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of the human personality—of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is."

So humankind was evil? Well he supposed, in a way, they were. But that would be a little judgmental of him, so he kept silent.

"They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray. Those who blamed aggression formed Amity. Those who blamed ignorance became the Erudite. Those who blamed duplicity created Candor. Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation. And those who blamed cowardice were the Dauntless."


End file.
